The School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI) FIRST® LEGO® League Jr. and FIRST® LEGO® League seasons are officially underway across Long Island. Students and mentors from the programs, which collectively reach children in grades one through 12, are hard at work researching, designing, building, programming and testing models and robots that will best address the “Challenge” set forth this season.

During AQUA ADVENTURESM, FIRST® LEGO® League Jr., students (ages six to 10) will explore how water is used in a home or community, the journey the water takes and improvements that can be made to this process. These students will examine where water comes from, how it gets to homes and buildings, how and whether it is treated beforehand and approaches to water conservation. They will then select one way in which water is used, research the subject and design a solution to improve the journey using a kit of LEGO parts and software. Teams will then have the opportunity to present their models, along with a “Show Me” poster, during a series of three Expos held at Mineola High School on March 3, 2018 and at Longwood High School on March 4, 2018.

Echoing the water theme, FIRST® LEGO® League’s HYDRO DYNAMICSSM, students (ages nine to 14) are tasked with identifying a problem within the human water cycle and finding a solution to the problem. Examples can include something as simple as quenching ones thirst or swimming in a pool, or as complicated as how water is used to produce food, energy and even technology, among other things. Once a problem has been identified, they students will then evaluate current solutions and subsequently design, build and test an innovative solution, using a LEGO MINDSTORMS® kit, that adds value to society. The children will then present the solution during one of six different Qualifier tournaments being held at Great Hollow Middle School (January 20-21, 2018) and Mineola High School (February 3-4, 2018), with the chance of subsequently advancing to the Championship tournament at Longwood High School (March 4, 2018).

For more information on SBPLI and the FIRST Long Island complement of programs, or to become a sponsor, please visit www.sbpli-lifirst.org.